Doing fine, miles away from politics

- Wards of state politicians make a mark away from papas’ field

AMIT BHELARI

Patna, Dec. 2: Wards of several leading politicians in Bihar are choosing vocations far from their parents’ at a time when scions of political heavyweights are making it big in politics across the country.

Nitin Kumar, 36, and Aditya Raj, 30, sons of road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav, are both established businessmen and politics is far from their mind.

Nitin, a philosophy graduate from Guru Govind Singh College, Patna, told The Telegraph: “Business is in our blood. My father, grandfather and great grandfather have all been businessmen. After a while my father entered politics, but I have no interest in it.”

He said: “I am doing good in the business. I started a business of readymade garments and have established two firms now. I also have a petrol pump in Bihta and a BlackBerry dealership. I have never thought of entering politics and even my father has never spoken to me about it. I am happy with what I am doing,” he said.

Nitin’s brother Aditya Raj, a commerce graduate from Vanijya Mahavidyalaya, Patna, shares the view. “We have established ourselves in business and I do not think we will ever join politics. Recently, we got the dealership of Mahindra & Mahindra for Patna, Vaishali and Nalanda. We do not have time for politics,” Aditya.

The road construction minister is a proud father and is happy with what his sons are up to. He said: “I have given them their own space. I am proud my children are doing well.”

Wards of other eminent politicians, including water resources minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, rural works minister Bhim Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Abdul Bari Siddiqui and former law minister late Shakeel Ahmed Khan, have also achieved success in their own fields. Success has come their way without following the footsteps of their fathers.

Bhim Singh’s daughters — Neha Singh, 26, and Nisha Singh, 24 — are known for their diligence in studies and they too have no interest in politics.

Master in Arts and a former student of Delhi School of Economics, Neha said: “My father never asked me to join politics though he has been involved in it since the JP Movement in the 1970s. He has always encouraged me to perform well in studies, which is why I am preparing for civil service examinations.”

Neha, married to a deputy collector, said: “I want to become an IAS officer and for that I am studying hard.”

Nisha is preparing for Bihar Judicial Service examination after completing the five-year BA-LLB course from Chanakya National Law University. “I do not think politics is meant for me. I want to serve my state in some other way,” said the 24-year-old.

Bhim Singh said today’s generation does not want to imitate their parents. “They want to do something different from their parents and I have always supported my daughters in achieving their dreams,” said the rural works minister.

Ankita Chaudhary and Shubhaditya Chaudhary hardly discuss politics even when they call their father, the water resources minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, at home.

Married to a software engineer in Mumbai, Ankita (27) is a corporate lawyer. Twenty-year-old Shubhaditya is a third-year student at Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi.

Even Abdul Bari Siddiqui’s son Anis Bari has chosen not to follow the footsteps of his father. Bari junior is pursuing MBA from Asian Institute of Management, Manila, the Philippines.

“After completing Bachelor of Engineering from PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, in 2007, I worked with HP for two years with an annual package of Rs 5.3 lakh. But I was not satisfied with the job and decided to start my own company. I started Tantra Consultancy Services in 2009 with my friend,” the 27-year-old told The Telegraph over phone from Manila.

He has already received the award for “The Most Promising Entrepreneur of 2010” by The Indus Entrepreneur, a global non-profit organisation focused on promoting entrepreneurship. He is also a black belt in kickboxing.

All three daughters of former law minister Shakeel Ahmed Khan have gone three different ways but have still stayed away from politics.

The eldest, Adila Shakeel, is settled in Pennsylvania, while the second daughter, Maria Shakeel, is a reporter with an English news channel. Youngest Fauzia is a practising lawyer at Patna High Court.

“After my father passed away, I had to come down to Patna as my mother was alone and she needed someone to be with her. My father encouraged me and my sisters to pursue our interests. He never asked me to join politics,” Fauzia said.

Not just have children of the ministers stayed away from politics, the chief minister’s son has also done so. Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant, a passout of BIT Mesra, Ranchi, is a computer engineer with no interest in politics.